Publisher : Riverhead Books
Year : 2003
Page : 401 pages
Summary :
In Kabul, Afghanistan, 1975, lived a
twelve years old boy named Amir. Amir was privileged, his father whom he called
Baba, was a rich businessman. They lived in an elite neighborhood, The Wazir
Akbar Khan district, with their servant, Ali, and his son Hassan. Amir’s mother
passed away giving birth to him. He felt that his father hated him because he
was the cause of his mother dead. Rahim Khan, his father best friend, served as
a father figure to him.
Yearned for his father affection and
acknowledgement, Amir sometimes felt jealous on Hassan, who sometimes got his
father attention. Amir treated uneducated Hassan as his brother and best
friend, but sometimes, played a fool on him in order to feel better. Hassan, on
the other hand, was a sincere, loyal best friend and servant to Amir. He
defended Amir when a notorious bully, Assef, threatened him.
There was an annually held
kite-fighting tournament in Kabul. The losing kites were chased by the kids, it
called kite running. Every year, Amir and Hassan competed in the tournament as
a team. That year, Amir won the kite-fighting tournament. Hassan wanted to run
the last losing kite, which valued like a trophy to Amir. When Amir looked for
Hassan, he found him with the losing kite, trapped in an empty alley by Assef
and his entourage. Amir was hiding while he witnessed Hassan got raped. Amir
ran away immediately and pretended like nothing happened.
When he got home, he presented the
losing kite to his father and Rahim Khan. They both were very proud of Amir.
Amir was happy because finally he pleased his father, but felt guilty because
he was a coward. He felt that he could not live with Hassan anymore, so he made
Hassan and Ali moved away by doing a deception.
March 1981, the Russian invaded
Afghanistan. This event forced Amir and Baba to leave Afghanistan. Two years
later, they built a new modest life in California, USA. Every week, the Afghans
in America gathered in a flea market, where they sold things and reunited.
There, Amir met the love of his life, Soraya. They married quickly because Baba
was diagnosed with a lung cancer. Shortly after their marriage, Baba passed
away.
Years after it, Amir became a successful
writer. One day, he received a call from Rahim Khan who looked after his house
when he and Baba was gone. Rahim Khan was sick and wanted to meet Amir in
Pakistan. In Pakistan, Rahim Khan told Amir that when he watched over his
house, he got sick and lonely, so he decided to find Hassan. Hassan, his wife,
Farzana, and his son, Sohrab, moved into the house, to the shack where Hassan
used to live. Things got worse in Afghanisthan when the Soviet was forced out
and replaced by the Taliban, who ruled in tyranny and brutality. When Rahim
Khan went to Pakistan for a medical treatment, the Taliban found Hassan and his
family. Because Hassan’s family was Hazaras, Hassan and his wife got shot,
leaving his son alone, sent into an orphanage.
Rahim Khan wanted Amir to go to
Afghanistan to find Sohrab and bring him to Pakistan where an American couple
would take care of him. This action is not only to redeem his old mistakes,
which Rahim found out, but also because Hassan was Amir’s half brother, Baba’s
illegitimate son. This fact was confidential, only known by Baba, Ali, and
Rahim Khan. Amir was shocked and again, felt guilty because Hassan could not
live the life he deserved. Hence, he looked for Sohrab.
After
a long venture, He found Sohrab at a Taliban official house. Sohrab was dressed
as a dancer, with make up on, suggesting that he was sexually abuse. It turned
out that the Taliban Official was Assef. Assef and Amir got into a fight, which
seriously damaged Amir. Sohrab saved Amir like his father had done, threatened
Assef with his slingshot. But, this time, Sohrab really shot Assef’s eye.
When
Amir recovered, he found out that Rahim Khan was gone and there was never a
couple who would take care of Sohrab. He decided to ask Sohrab to move with him
to USA. The adoption officials told Amir that adopting Sohrab would be
impossible. Before he eventually found a way, Sohrab suicided. This attempt,
however, did not kill him, but made him entirely silent. Sohrab did not speak a
word even when he already moved to California with Amir’s family.
One
day, there was an Afghans gathering at a park. People were flying kites like
the old days in Afghanistan. Amir bought one, told Sohrab what he used to do
with Hassan. The story ended with Sohrab finally smiled when Amir was running a
losing kite for him.
Moral
Values :
1)
In life, we might find people who are dear to
our heart, but as human, inevitably, make mistakes. These people can be our
parents, friends, or loved ones. It is easier to blame them for the bad things
they have done or caused, but it is much better to have a big heart, forgive
them, and try our best to remain loyal. This value is portrayed in the
character of Hassan. Despite some indecent behavior Amir had done to him,
Hassan treated Amir respectfully as his master and his best friend. He forgave
and forgot Amir’s mistakes, even longed for Amir’s presence.
2) Sometimes, we find ourselves lacking of
courage and confidence when we try to protect other people. We are afraid that
the danger they face will also put us in a considerable peril. Nevertheless, we
should be brave not just in standing for our rights, but in standing for things
that are right. I learn this lesson from Amir’s mistake. If young Amir had the
courage to help Hassan, he would not have to live in guilt. He would not need
to get rid of Hassan, and could gave Hassan a better life.
3) We should treat all human equally and
courteously, regardless of their appearances, occupations, and beliefs. In this
book, we were introduced to a character named Assef, who reflected the bad
things in Afghanistan. He was arrogant and racist, relentlessly brutal to those
he thought were unworthy. We also met characters like Baba, Hassan, and Rahim
Khan that represent this value by the way they treated Hassan’s family.
4)
Rahim
Khan said to Amir, "There is a way
to be good again." (Hosseini, 2003: 2) when he needed Amir’s help to
save Sohrab and “…And that, I believe, is
what true redemption is, Amir jan, when guilt leads to good."
(Hosseini, 2003: 326) on his last letter. Those quotes, I think,
are corresponded to the whole theme of this story, which is redemption. Amir
and Baba, both made mistakes. Amir atoned his by rescuing and providing a
better place for Sohrab to grow up while Baba compensated his by being generous
to those in need. Making mistakes is an unavoidable certainty in our everyday
life. We make mistakes, sometimes oblivious, sometimes left us with remorse and
guilt. What we have to understand is that life goes on, and there are always or
will be solutions to redeem our sins if we try our hardest to be a better
person.
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